Find out about the voluntary repayment bonus.

The government has introduced a 10% student loan voluntary repayment bonus for voluntary repayments that total $500 or more in a tax year (1 April to 31 March).

You don't need to make a voluntary repayment in a lump sum. You could make voluntary weekly repayments of $10 throughout a tax year instead of a one-off payment of $500, and still be eligible for the repayment bonus.

You don't need to apply for the voluntary repayment bonus, but you do need to have met all your student loan obligations. These are making your repayments by the due date, using the correct tax code, and filing your income tax returns (if you're required to) to be eligible.

• What voluntary repayments are
• When you’re eligible for the voluntary repayment bonus
• If you’re not repaying your loan in full
• If you're repaying your loan in full
• When you’ll receive your bonus

What voluntary repayments are

Voluntary repayments are payments made on top of what you need to repay for a tax year. They can be made as a single lump sum or by smaller amounts during the year. They will first be credited to any old and current repayment obligations and any amount left is treated as a voluntary repayment.

Find out how to make an extra repayment.

When you're eligible for the voluntary repayment bonus

You're eligible for a voluntary repayment bonus if:

• you're up-to-date with your repayments and filing your income tax returns (if you're required to)
• your loan balance with Inland Revenue is $550 or more at the beginning of the tax year (1 April), and
• your voluntary repayments for the tax year total $500 or more.

If you’re not repaying your loan in full

We'll check to see if you're eligible for the voluntary repayment bonus after the end of the tax year when we know what you needed to repay. This includes if the voluntary repayments you made during the tax year were $500 or more than your repayment amount due.

For example, if you made voluntary repayments during the tax year that came to $800, you would receive a voluntary repayment bonus of $80 and your loan balance would be reduced by $880.

If you’re repaying your loan in full

If you want to repay your loan in full, you only need to pay 10/11th of your loan balance as the 10% bonus on this amount will cover the remaining 1/11th balance.

The amount of your bonus is limited by legislation to 1/11th of your loan balance, not 10% of any payments you make. This ensures you’re not receiving a bonus on payments you didn’t need to make to pay your loan in full.

To make a final repayment, you'll need to:

• get a current loan balance, and
• include any loan balance you have with Studylink as well.

Go to "Get it done online" to check your loan balance with Inland Revenue.

To repay your loan in full you can then do either of the following:

When you’ll receive your bonus

When you receive your voluntary repayment bonus depends on your circumstances.

You’ll be able to see if a voluntary repayment bonus has been applied to your loan balance by checking your statement - we send these out in May and October. You can also check your loan balance online, go to "Get it done online".

As when making any financial decisions, you're advised to seek appropriate financial advice before taking advantage of the voluntary repayment bonus.